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Following in the tracks of Donald Campbell’s legendary Bluebird, two adventurous Brits will attempt to break the world land-speed record, but this time in a vehicle powered solely by the wind.

Dale Vince, Ecotricity MD, and engineer, Richard Jenkins, will attempt to break the 116.7mph land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle (WPV), held currently by an American team, on Australia’s Lake Lefroy. Dale Vince said: “The Greenbird is a highly-evolved vehicle that uses a combination of technology found ordinarily on Aircraft and Formula 1 cars to achieve staggering speeds with no engine in sight.”

The chosen name is a nod to Donald Campbell’s all-conquering Bluebird.

Dale said: “The Bluebird achieved incredible speeds in a golden age of fossil fuels – when oil was cheap and no one had thought that one day it would run out.

“Fast forward to today and we are coming to the end of the age of fossil fuels and the dawn of the age of renewables. The Greenbird symbolises this historical watershed better than anything else.

“Cars of the future won’t be running on fossil fuels, they will be running on renewable sources of energy like the Wind. And with today’s technology we can achieve incredible speeds, using only wind power.”